


hurt

by bonebo



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, SEP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-04 01:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14582067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonebo/pseuds/bonebo
Summary: Today is injection day for soldiers one through fifty; and as he comes back from the gym to the quarters he shares with Soldier: 24, Jack finds himself wondering just what the effects will be this time.





	hurt

Today is injection day for soldiers one through fifty; and as he comes back from the gym to the quarters he shares with Soldier: 24, Jack finds himself wondering just what the effects will be this time.

It’s been a crapshoot lately, in regards to how the shots affect the soldiers--Jack’s had them render him completely exhausted and unbearably horny and everything in between, suffered through the nights where he lay writhing in his bed and unable to stand the feeling of clothes on his skin. On those nights, his only comfort comes in Gabriel: in knowing that the other soldier has gone through this first, in the gentle pet of calloused fingers across his head or Gabriel’s soothing voice low in his ear.

Jack has complained many a time, once the worst of the pain has passed, about how easy Gabriel gets off with the injections--how little they affect him, how he has yet to be reduced to a teeth-gritting incoherent ball of agony curled up on his bunk.

But as soon as he comes into their shared room, he knows that something is wrong.

It’s not uncommon for Gabriel to stay up well past lights-out, just sitting up on his bed and talking about his family back home, about his previous service, about the first things he’s going to do when he’s done with the program; but they still have three hours before assigned bedtime and Gabriel is silent, curled up on his bed in boxers and a tank top. His back is to the door, his blankets and pillow lying askew on the floor; and Jack can’t help his smug chuckle as he shuts the door behind him.

“Well well well...it would seem you are human, after all,” Jack comments, grinning to himself as he walks over to his own bunk and drops his gym bag onto the floor. “What are they shooting us up with this time? Gasoline?”

Jack waits for the usual snarky response, but frowns when instead he’s only answered by silence; he turns and looks at the other soldier, his brows furrowing.

“Hey. Gabe. Did you fall asleep?”

Again, there is no reply--and it’s only when Jack continues to stare that he notices the minute trembling of Gabriel’s body, the occasional twitch of his drawn-up legs. He crosses the room to sink down onto the edge of Gabriel’s bed, and notices the darker color of the sheets beneath Gabriel’s body, damp with stale sweat.

“Gabe?” Jack tries, voice soft as he lays a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder; and that is enough to finally draw a response from the other man, in the form of a weak, drawn-out moan of pain. “Gabe, what’s wrong?”

Gabriel shakes his head, curling up tighter like he’s trying to get away from Jack’s hand. His face is sallow and glistening with sweat, eyes screwed shut tight; Jack can see his teeth pressed into his bottom lip, the bloody split in the skin there, and it sends a rush of unease through him.

“Gabe...maybe you should go to the medical bay,” Jack starts, noting with alarm just how hot Gabriel’s skin is when he returns his palm to his tense shoulder, the flush of red across the back of his neck. “You’ve never reacted this badly to the injections before…”

He trails off, hoping for a response; and the only thing he gets is a choked-sounding noise, another spasm wracking through Gabriel’s body before he finally moves, throwing an arm out blindly behind him. Jack grabs for it, putting his hand in Gabriel’s and squeezing.

“Gabe...c’mon. Gabe, talk to me,” Jack tries, tugging at Gabriel’s arm lightly--wanting to urge him up, but worried about causing the other soldier even more pain when he’s already hurting so badly. “I’m worried about you…tell me what’s wrong, let me help...”

There’s a long stretch of near-silence--broken only by Gabriel’s wheezing breaths, the hiccuping little almost-sobs that die in the back of his throat--before he manages a strained, “H-hurts.”

The single word is quiet, barely a whisper; and it breaks Jack’s heart all the same. He leans in to press a kiss to the crown of Gabriel’s head, and his lips move against the sweat-slick skin there as he murmurs, “I know...but I’m here now.

I’m going to help you.”


End file.
